Telephones in Instructional Classrooms

Project Status

Estimated project completion: see Projects

Executive Summary

To comply with Texas Law (Texas Education Code (TEC) 37.108), McLennan Community College (MCC) Department of Emergency & Risk Management has secured funding in the FY 2023-2024 budget to place a telephone in every MCC instructional space that does not already have a device to communicate with emergency response services during emergencies.

MCC Information Systems & Services Infrastructure (Infrastructure) will engage a structured cabling vendor to install cables, fiber optics and an Intermediate Distribution Frame (IDF) where needed. Infrastructure will order, configure and deploy telephones internally. Infrastructure will configure and install existing spare switches where needed. Infrastructure will order and install media converters, SFPs and Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) needed for the project.

Infrastructure plans to start engaging vendors June 10, 2024 to get quotes for telephones, wall mounts, IDF, structured cabling, fiber optics, media converts and UPS. Work is estimated to be completed by September 30, 2024.

The estimated cost of structured cabling vender, telephones and additional accessories is $83,000..

Business Need & Background

• This effort will benefit MCC faculty, instructors, and students by facilitating two-way communication between instructional spaces and first responders during periods of emergency. This two-way communication has the potential to greatly reduce the amount of time it will take for first responders to address emergencies around campus and ultimately, save lives.
• Texas Law (TEC 37.108-2) requires a measure “…to ensure district employees, including substitute teachers, have classroom access to a telephone, including a cellular telephone, or another electronic communication device allowing for immediate contact with district emergency services or emergency services agencies, law enforcement agencies, health departments, and fire departments;”
• Not every instructional space on MCC’s campus has a means of two-way communication with first responders during emergencies. Currently there are 159 instructional spaces in need of communication devices.
• Previous limitations included a lack of Ethernet port density to accommodate the number of two-way communication devices required to equip every instructional space on campus. This limitation was eliminated with last year’s switch replacement project. There are now enough Ethernet port density and spare switches to accommodate this effort..

Project Description & Scope

• This project will address the need by bringing MCC into compliance with Texas Law (Texas Education Code 37.108) by providing a means of two-way communication with first responders in instructional spaces.
• Instructions spaces are areas confined by walls or fences, where faculty and staff regularly conduct classes for students.
• This project is expanding the number of telephones in MCC’s voice over internet protocol (VoIP) service. This project will add 154 telephones, one in every instructional space on campus that does not currently have two-way communication (see Exceptions in Out of Scope).
• Telephones will not be able to receive calls from outside of campus, cutting down on the chances of disruptions of instructional time. Every telephone deployed will be programmed to automatically dial the MCC Campus Police Emergency telephone number with the push of a button. Additionally, every telephone will be capable of dialing McLennan County emergency services 911 and providing the 911 dispatcher a temporary means to call back and reach the telephone directly for up to two hours after the telephone dials 911.
• Two 2-button, weather resistant, call boxes will be installed on the playgrounds of the Child Development Center to meet the needs of the TEC 37.108-2, where telephones would not be practical.
• ISS Infrastructure currently maintains and supports an on-premises telephone system, this will not change. It is not in the scope of this effort for these additional telephones to be configured or customized beyond what is already mentioned, therefore the support requirements of these devices are low. Customer requests to modify or change these devices will be denied without the approval from the Director of Emergency and Risk Management.
• The structured cabling will be installed in 43 instruction spaces by Panduit certified vendors and have a 25-year warranty covering workmanship and materials. The vendors will certify the structured cabling and cover the warranty. This insures that MCC can depend on this structure cabling to meet its needs and eliminate repair cost for years to come.
• The telephones and call boxes being deployed use the industry standard, session initiation protocol (SIP), insuring that these devices will be compatible with any future phone system the College may purchase.
• An intermediate distribution framework (IDF) will be installed in Community Services Center (CSC) D-wing. CSC D-wing is physically too far away from any of the other IDF’s in the CSC for the structured cabling runs to be within the industry standard distance from a switch to provide reliable connectivity.

Project Schedule (Original)

Project Management & Governance (Original)

Documentation

• Telephones in Instructional Classrooms Project Charter

Last updated: 7/29/2024